Adjustable louvered grilles



May 23, 1961 E. F. AVERlLL ADJUSTABLE LOUVERED GRILLES Filed Sept. 20, 1957 INVENTOR: EUGENE F. AVERILL ATT'YS ADJUSTABLE LOUVERED GRILLES Eugene F. Averill, Waterloo, Iowa, assignor to Titus Manufacturing Corporation, Waterloo, Iowa, a corporation of Iowa Filed Sept. 20, 1957, Ser. No. 685,328

4 Claims. (Cl. 98106) This invention, in general, relates to adjustable louvered grilles, the vanes of which may be adjusted to provide a vertical pattern of air discharge or a horizontal pattern of air discharge. More particularly, the invention relates to adjustable louvered grilles adapted to serve as replacement for stamped grilles when the heating system of a building is converted to a heating-air conditioning system, in which different patterns of air flow are desired during the heating and air conditioning or air cooling periods of use. The adjustable louvered grilles of the instant invention are equally useful in newly-installed forced air heating-air conditioning or air cooling systems.

When a central heating system is converted to include a central air conditioner, and the warm air ducts are utilized to distribute the cooled air as well as the warm air, the fixed air pattern, stamped registers normally employed in warm air distribution systems must be replaced because they cannot provide the correct air distribution for both heating and cooling. In order to provide for maximum comfort during both the heating and cooling cycles, the flow pattern of the air discharged into a room should be different. For example, when the air registers or grilles are located in a wall near the floor, the air pattern for providing maximum comfort should be substantially vertical so that the cool air travels upwardly along the wall of the roompre'ferably an outer wall of the building. The correct winter heating pattern, however, is one in which the air is discharged in a substantially horizontal or even slightly downward pattern, thus distributing the warm air along the floor of the room. This pattern of air flow provides for the mixing of the warm air with the cooler strata of air in the lower level of the room, and thus provides a more even temperature distribution throughout the room between the floor and the ceiling.

It will be readily apparent that the correct air patterns can be maintained only when the grilles provide for discharge of the air in both vertical and horizontal patterns. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide grilles having adjustable vanes for directing the air flow exiting from the grille into both vertical and horizontal patterns. Another object is to provide adjustable louvered grilles which are specially designed to replace stamped registers when forced warm air systems are converted to include summer air conditioning systems. Still another object is to provide grilles which may be so employed in conventional forced warm air heating systems without necessitating changes in the duct work. Still another object is to provide louvered grilles adapted to give improvements in substantially vertical, room air flow patterns in air distribution systems. These and other objects, which will appear in the following description of the invention, are achieved by the invention illustrated in the drawing wherein:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation view of a preferred embodiment of a grille contemplated by the instant invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the grille of Fig. l;

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Fig. 3 is a rear elevational view of the grille of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on the lines 44 of Fig. 1.

In accordance with the invention, the adjustable louvered grille illustrated in the drawing comprises a metal frame 10 surrounding the discharge opening of a hollow air passage formed by the hollow housing 12 consisting of an upper wall, a lower wall, and two side walls. Two right angle brackets 14 are welded to the rear face of the frame 10. These brackets are employed to rotatably support a fiat plate damper 16, coextensive with the rear opening of the housing 12, with the bent edges or lips 18 of the damper overlapping the edge of the housing when the damper is closed. The damper 16 is rotatably supported about a pivot axis along the top, rearward edge of the housing by the brackets '14 by a pair of right angle brackets 20 welded to the upper rear face of the damper and by pins 22 fixed in the brackets 20 and rotatably journalled in the brackets 14.

When the grille is installed, the damper is operable from the face of the grille by means of the damper operating arm 24 having a handle 26. The damper operating arm extends through the elongated slot 28 in the frame 10 and has a right angle tab 30 welded to the rear face of the damper 16. The damper is opened and closed by swinging the operating arm 24 within the confines of the elongated slot 28 to pivot the damper on the pins 22.

A strip sponge rubber sealing gasket 32 is glued to the rear face of the frame 10 around the periphery thereof. The sponge rubber gasket is of slightly greater depth than the depth of the bent edges 34 of the frame 10 to seal the edges of the unit against leakage of air between edges 34 and the Wall of the room. Recessed screw holes 36 are punched on each side of the frame to facilitate attachment of the air distribution unit to the building structure.

The direction of air flow exiting from the grille is controlled by a plurality of horizontal, adjustable, curved vanes 40, which extend across the housing 12 and are journalled for rotation about longitudinal axes thereof in vertically aligned apertures in the side walls of the housing 12 by pins 42 serving as pivot axes intermediate the leading and trailing edges of the vanes. The pins 42 are integral with the vanes 40 and, in essence, are extensions of the central round beads 44 in each of the vanes 40. The parallel vanes 40 are preferably transversely curved so as to provide a concave upper surface and a convex lower surface to facilitate the more desirable air flow patterns. The vanes are mounted in the housing 12 with the front or trailing edges adjacent the plane of the discharge opening of the grille. They have central, round beads 44 and additional round beads 54 on the rear or leading edges thereof. These beads give additional rigidity to the vanes for preventing vibration thereof during air flow therethrough. In addition, they provide as short extensions thereof, the pins 42 and 56, for the purposes herein described.

As will be noted in Fig. 3, the pins 42 extend through aligned apertures in the sides of the housing 12 a slight distance. A tensioning wire 46 is threaded between the pins in zig-zag fashion, and the ends of the tensioning wire 46 are secured beneath clip tabs 4850. The tensioning wire 46 is threaded between the pins in a taut =mannerprimarily to rest-rain vibration of the vanes during air flow through the grille. The tensioning wires 46 also serve, to some degree, in frictionally holding the vanes 40 in their set position.

A thin, flat, spring steel clip 52 may be mounted on at least one pin 42 in nonrotatable engagement with the pin 42 andin light frictional, rotatably slidable contact with the side wall of the housing 12. Thus, when the vanes are rotated, the frictionable contact between the clip 52 and the side wall of the housing 12 further assists in holding the vanes in the position in which they are set.

Short extensions of the beads 54 form pins. 56 at each side of the vanes. The short pins in turn are rotatably journalled in longitudinally disposed, aligned apertures in vane ganging bars 58 on at least one and preferably both sides of the vanes. The vane gauging bars 58 may be spaced a slight distance from the inner side walls of the housing 12, or they may be in light frictional contact with the inner walls to further aid in holding the vanes in their set position.

The ganging bars 58 are employed to transmit a rotational force applied to one vane to all of the vanes so they are rotated in unison and assume the same positions. Thus, when one of the vanes 40 is rotated by applying manual pressure, the rotation thereof moves the gang-ing bars 58 in a vertical direction and transmits the rotational force to all of the vanes-causing the vanes to be rotated in unison.

One of the features of the instant invention is the provision along the upper edge of the inner face of the housing 12 of a curved blind wing 60 whose exterior, convexly curved surface begins at or near the upper edge of the housing adjacent the discharge opening and extends downwardly and trearwardly from this edge into the housing in convexly curved fashion. The convex surface presented by the blind wing 60, in cooperation with the adjacent adjustable vane, provides improved results in the vertical air pattern when the vanes are tilted in an upwardly inclining position as shown in phantom at 62 in Fig. 4. By way of explanation, the air flowing from the grille may be depicted as flowing in a series of layers defined by the channels between the vanes. It has been found that when the vanes are set for vertical flow in grilles constructed without the blind wing 60, the uppermost air stream exiting between the upper vane and the top wall of the housing 12 disturbs the vertical pattern of the lower layers of the air streams which have been given an upward direction by the positioning of the vanes 40. The blind wing, however, blocks off this disturbing air flow and channels the uppermost air stream in a direction similar to that of the lower air streams. In fact, there is evidence indicating that the uppermost vertical air stream exiting between the blind wing and the uppermost adjustable vane draws the lowermost air streams toward itcausing the basic air stream pattern, as a Whole, to flow closer to the wall of the room in a vertical direction.

Obviously, the invention herein described and illustrated may be employed in modified forms other than the specific embodiment shown without departing from the spirit and scope thereof-as set forth in the appended claims.

The invention is hereby claimed as follows:

1. A louvered grille comprising a hollow housing having a rear opening and a front opening and adapted to conduct supply air from said rear opening to said front opening in said housing for discharge of the air; a plurality of horizontal, parallel vanes within said housing with the trailing edge thereof adjacent the plane of said front opening, said vanes being transversely curved to provide a concave upper surface and a convex lower surface; and a fixed blind wing, parallel with said vanes, mounted in said housing and extending across the upper edge of said housing, the lower surface of said blind wing extending, beginning at the edge of said housing adjacent said front opening, downwardly and rearwardly in convex curvature into said housing, said blind wing projecting into the upper portion of the air stream flowing through said housing from the rear opening to said front opening whereby said blind wing blocks of the portion of the stream flowing through said housing adjacent the top of said housing.

2. A louvered grille comprising a rectangular, hollow housing made up of four walls forming a rear opening through which air is supplied and a front opening for discharge of air; a plurality of horizontal, parallel vanes within said housing with the trailing edges thereof adjacent the plane of said front opening, said vanes being transversely curved to provide a concave upper surface and a convex lower surface; means pivotally mounting each of said vanes for rotation about longitudinal axes thereof; means for ganging said vanes for rotation thereof in unison when a rotational force is applied to one of said vanes; and a fixed, blind wing, parallel with said vanes, mounted in said housing and extending across the upper edge of said housing, the lower surface of said blind wing extending, beginning at the front edge of said housing adjacent said front opening, downwardly and rearwardly in convex curvature into said housing, said blind wing projecting into the upper portion of the air stream flowing through said housing from the rear opening to the front opening whereby said blind wing blocks oif the portion of the air stream flowing through said housing adjacent the upper wall thereof.

3. A replacement grille adapted to be substituted for fixed discharge pattern stamped grilles to provide variable air flow patterns comprising a hollow housing having an upper wall, a lower wall, and two side walls, a discharge opening and a rear opening; a frame surrounding said discharge opening; a flat plate damper coextensive with said rear opening for covering said rear opening; means pivotally mounting said damper with the pivot axis along the top, rearward edge of said housing; means for swinging said damper to open and closed positions; a plurality of horizontal, parallel vanes in said housing extending between said side walls; said vanes being transversely curved to provide a concave upper surface and a convex lower surface; said vanes being pivotally mounted in the side walls of said housing by means of pins protruding from the ends of each of said vanes approximately intermediate of the leading and trailing edges thereof, said pins extending through vertically aligned apertures in the side walls of said housing; an additional pin protruding from atleast one end of each of said vanes 'at an edge thereof; a vertical gauging bar having apertures longitudinally disposed therein; said additional pins hebing journalled in said longitudinally disposed apertures; and a fixed blind wing, parallel with said vanes, extending across the upper edge of said housing, the exterior surface of said blind wing extending, beginning at the edge of said housing adjacent said discharge opening, downwardly and rearwardly in convex curvature into said housing and projecting into the upper portion of the air stream flowing through said housing from the rearopening to the front opening whereby said blind wing blocks off the portion of the air stream flowing through said housing adjacent the upper wall thereof.

4. The grille of claim 3 wherein at least one of the pins extending through said housing has mounted adjacent the end thereof in nonrot-atable relationship therewith a spring steel clip in light frictional, rotatably slidable contact witha side wall of the housing.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 472,409 Tarbell Apr. 5, 1892 542,716 Shenton July 16, 1895 574,104 McCreery Dec. 29, 1896 597,308 Tobey Ian. 11, 1898 847,497 Nicolaus Mar. 19, 1907 1,110,447 Lindsey Sept. 15, 1914 1,254,216 Draws Jan. 22, 1918 (Other references on following page) 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS 6 Bules Nov. 24, 1942 Otto Apr. 27, 1943 Davies Feb. 19, 1946 Saunders Aug. 3, 1954 Clarke Apr. 5, 1955 OTHER REFERENCES Construction Specialties, Inc., Newark, N. J. Bulletin identified as 1955, AIA File No. 14-B-4, pages 5 and 6. (Copy in Division 49.) 

